Warning: Constants may only evaluate to scalar values in /home4/theagate/public_html/volan.org/wp-content/plugins/my-custom-functions/my-custom-functions.php on line 69Councilmanic – Page 2 – DEMYSTIFYING MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT ONE TOWN AT A TIME (STARTING WITH THE MODEST CITY OF BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA USA)

Q: Are there or are there not any local ordinances that prohibit delivery trucks and moving trucks on main roads during rush hour? If not, why not? If we do, why aren’t they enforced? We should not have Walnut or College restricted to a single lane due to two delivery trucks on … Continue reading

Wednesday nights are Council meeting nights, and they can go on. Last night’s committee of the whole was not too long, at only 3 hours and 45 minutes. Despite being a night owl, I’m not keen on writing after meetings. I also have to admit that my first efforts at blogging here about … Continue reading

Share this:

Bloomington’s always been a small town, right? There must’ve been a long period, you think, when nothing much about it changed. And certainly Bloomington has always been dominated by IU students. They’ve always been a huge part of the city’s life. Right? But then you look at the numbers. Bloomington’s bicentennial … Continue reading

Share this:

Above: While the 1950s-era chalet (and the original home of Food Truck Friday) is going away, the Chocolate Moose will return to this spot in 2017. (Photo: moosebtown.com) What happened to no new luxury apartment construction until we had affordable housing development? I have been renting for 6 years in … Continue reading

Share this:

After another long, fog-filled hiatus, Councilmanic is back, with a new sense of purpose, a new look, and a new web address. Not to mention a new mission: to demystify local government by answering your direct questions. It’s a consumer- no, call it a citizen-affairs column.* Part of the problem I’ve … Continue reading

Share this:

Summertime means budget time in Bloomington city government. Since my tenure began in 2004, to consider the proposal which the Administration brings forward, Council has held four consecutive weeknights of hearings, at which the Mayor and the heads of each department present their requests, and then Councilmembers ask questions and take … Continue reading

Share this:

The Dark Power of Fraternities: A yearlong investigation of Greek houses reveals their endemic, lurid, and sometimes tragic problems — “and a sophisticated system for shifting the blame.” An article on fraternities in light of the debate over the Fiji house and IU’s intent to relocate it destructively to University … Continue reading

Share this:

Hurt feelings continue over Northwest Indiana town’s creation: Merrillville, Ind. experiencing now a little of what Gary did 40 years ago. This is a discussion of my hometown, which was never anything but sprawl. The town seal shows not just the year of its founding, but the exact date: Dec. … Continue reading

Share this:

City of Bloomington Sanitation Data 2004-2012. Before 2004, the City disposed of its unrecycled trash at the Monroe County Landfill at a rate of $28/ton. The Landfill, a distance of about 12 miles from downtown Bloomington, closed in mid-2004; since then, the City has availed itself of the next nearest … Continue reading